Hair clipper



June 16 1936. H, H. R'oBERTs l 2,044,259

HAIR CLIPPER Filed June 1, 1935 J7 Tron/ww Patented June 16, 1936 action HAIR CLIPPER Henry H. Roberts, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application .lune 1, 1935, Serial No. 24,465

11 Claims.

This invention is directed to the provision of a hair clipper embodying novel mechanism permitting human hair to be neatly and evenly clipped by a relatively unskilled operator so as to afford the customary gradual taper or increase in hair length from the lower edges of the hair at the sides and back of the head to the upper part thereof where present styles dictate that the hair shall be relatively long and, in association and combination therewith, means for feeding the hair to the cutting teeth of the clipper even when relatively long and soft hair is being cut thereby.

A principal object of the invention, therefor, is to provide a clipper by means of which a relatively unskilled operator can cut another persons hair or even his own hair in such way as to present the smooth and regular finish ordinarily capable of attainment only by highly skilled barbers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hair clipper comprising means operative to gradually raise the shearing or cutting blades relatively to the scalp in proportion to the distance the clipper is moved thereover whereby the hairs at any point are cut the proper length according to their position with respect to the lower edge of the hair generally.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair clipper embodying means for automatically feeding the hair to, and holding it in proper position for cutting by, the clipper blades whereby the clipping of relatively long hair may be readily effected without manual feeding of the hair to the blades with a comb or the like.

The invention further contemplates attainment of the foregoing objects by operative combination and association with a hair clipper of usual type without extensive modification or reorganization thereof or radical alteration of its basic design, of certain instrumentalities of relatively simple design and construction and of a character not liable to get out of order under the conditions of use to which they are necessarily subjected, thereby facilitating manufacture and reducing cost.

Other objects, purposes and advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear or will be understood from the following description of one embodiment thereof shown in the 0 accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of the clipper in which the action of certain of the parts is demonstrated by representation in dotted lines in certain positions they may respectively assume during cutting of the hair;

(Cl. Sii-1) Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the opposite side of the clipper shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the clipper;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1 but partially in central vertical 5 longitudinal section, and

Fig 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the clipper on a slightly smaller scale.

In the several figures like characters are used to designate the same parts. 10

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, it will be understood that the hair clipping mechanism generally, comprising a pair of blades and actuating means therefor, may be of any usual or desired type and, as shown, may there- 15 fore comprise a housing l from which is supported a toothed or serratedV fixed blade 2 and a somewhat similar movable blade 3 reciprocable relatively thereto by means of a handle 4 arranged for pivotal movement with respect to' a 20v fixed handle 5 which may be integral with housing l. Within the housing is preferably disposed a coil spring (not shown) operative to urge the movable handle away from the fixed handle so that the movable blade, controlled by the for- 25 mer, may be reciprocated relatively to the fixed blade in clipping the hair by grasping both handles in one hand and alternately contracting and releasing the grip, a guard G on the fixed handle and a guard l on the movable one preventing un- 30 due slipping of the handles in the hand. Since the parts just mentioned are of ordinary construction and commonly found in clippers designed for manual operation, they require no further description, so that reference will now 35 be made to the means and instrumentalities I` combine therewith to attain the objects of my invention.

The housing and the cutting blades in clippers of this general type are ordinarily yieldingly held 40 in assembled relation by means of a screw and spring or similar device but in accordance with my invention this function inter alia is performed by an externally threaded tubular sleeve I0 threaded into a base plate Il of a generally U- 45 shaped frame l2, the functions of which will hereinafter more fully appear, and extending therefrom through the subjacent housing l and fixed blade 2 to provide a pivot for the movable handle 5, a spring washer I3 and nut lll being arranged 50 on its lower end to yieldingly clamp these parts to the base plate with the aid of a lock nut l5 threaded on the sleeve above the latter.

A stern I6 is slidably disposed within sleeve l0 and carries at its lower end a toothed gauge plate 55 I1 the relatively coarse teeth I8 of which are generally aligned with the cutting teeth of the clipper blades but adapted for movement toward and away from the latter in accordance with sliding movement of stem I6 in the sleeve. A collar I9 surrounds the upper portion of sleeve l0 and is secured to stem i6 by a pin 20 which slides in a vertical slot 2l in the former, and between this collar i9 and lock nut I5 is disposed a coil spring which continually urges the collar and hence stem -I6 and gauge plate I'l upwardly relatively to the clipper as a whole.

Movement of these parts in the opposite direction against the force of spring 22 is effected by means of a cam 25 carried by a transversely fdisposed shaft 26 flattened on one side, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the cam will be turned by the shaft when tted thereon, the cam -being removably clamped in place between nuts 2l threaded on the shaft which is journaled in a bearing at the upper lend of one .1eg'28 of the frame i2, a `web integral with the leg and :base tplate being preferably located between them to insure rigidity of the shaft mounting. The shaftprojects a short distance through :and `beyond lthe bearing to receive an actuating arm 3llseeured to its stub end byaa set .screw :31, the actuating varm being thus adapted for movement iin a limited :arc to rotate the shaft. This movementispreferably effected by means of a cord 32 :secured at lone end Ato :the outer y:end .of the and led through 'an eyelet 33, :supported .from :a guide :rod 34 on gauge plate IFI, ito a tab 35 the 'purpose v.of Which will hereinafter appear. Guide rod 3'4 projects upwardly from the Igauge plate andslides'in a slot 3B in base plate lil to prevent turning of the gauge on its supporting .'stem, 7but other means may be provided .to perform -this function, and eyelet 33 may then libe carried directly 'by the gauge `plate if desired.

From the foregoing description it will Vbe '.apparent that .shaft 2B may ,beirotated to move vcam 30 .and hence depress .stem 1,6 .and gauge plate l-J relatively Ito .the clipper blades `in response `to a pull upon cord 32. .In practice, however, kit is desirable that 'tab l35, may be .of corrugated rubber or .other suitable material preferably having .a high ycoefficient 'of friction, be rrnly held at .a `ixed point while the `:hair is being cut, fand when :so "held, Imovement .of the clipper relatively thereto, as upwardly in cutting the human 'hair when beginning .the cut at the lower 'edge thereof A,near the upper :end .of the neck or in front yof the ears, :causes movement of gauge plate I1 downwardlyrelatively to the clipper. 'Consequently, as the :gauge .plate remains in substantial :contact with fthe .scalp of the person Whose hair is being cut, when the tab is so held at a fixed poin-t and :the clipper .moved lover .the scalp, the clipper housing and cutting :blades are gradually raised from theiscalp accordance with the ydistance they :are moved .away from the said point. The length to which the :hair V-isicut as the clipper is progressively Vmoved `relatively to the 'tab thus progressively increases at :a rate determined by the shape y'of cam 25 irrespective of the rate of reciprocation :or the clipper blades, and a smooth and even taper is thereby obtained, the teeth `on the-gauge plate vi 1 assisting in `arranging the hair for reception by the cutting teeth as Well kas insuring smoothness and evenness of movement of the clipper as fa whole over lthe scalp.

To render still more positive the feeding of the hair into the cutting teethfparticularly the longer and hence :less erect strands near .and at the upper part of the scalp, and to hold it in proper position to be cut thereby, I provide an oscillating feed bar 40 movable in an arc terminating inwardly adjacent and just above the cutting teeth,

this bar, preferably formed of spring wire, being 5 more or less T-shaped and comprising a head 4| substantially overlying all the teeth when the bar is at the inner extremity of its travel and thus operative to feed the hair equally and properly to the 'blades and hold it adjacent thereto during 10 their relative reciprocation. The feed bar is supported from the other leg 42 of frame l2, likevwise preferably stiffened by an integral web, be-

ing ixed to a short shaft 43 journaled in a bear- 15 ing at the upper extremity of this leg, and is continuously 'urged inwardly and downwardly by a slight tension spring 45 interposed between the bar .and the frame which thus tends as well to turn the Ashaft counter clockwise when viewed as 20 in Fig. 2. However, 4shaft 443 is positively moved in Kthe opposite vdirection at the termination of each transverse movement of the movable cutting blade -of the clipper Aby mechanism Ihereinafter described and Tft-heifeed bar is thereby raised 25 from juxtaposition to fthe :cutting teeth to engage a fresh quantity l.of hair so that when it is subsequently ,released substantially at the initiation of `movement 'of the .cutting 'blade `in reverse direction, the tensionof the spring yieldingly presses 30 a universal oint 41, with the movable handle 4 40 and its vother or louter end extended between diametrically opposed pins '48, 49 of a head 59 secured to the .end of :shaft 43 opposite that to which `,the ifeed Ibar is secured. The rod is provided with adiametrically opposed horizontally 45 spaced lugs :5:|., 52 respectively adapted to engage pins 48, 49 when the :rod is moved axially by reciprocation of the .movable clipper handle yand thereby `turn shaft :43 :and `lift the feed bar, preferably approximately :as the movable handle 4 50 reaches one extremity or the other of its normal travel, the parts being 'so arranged that the bar is lifted Quickly as these points are reached and equally Quickly :released for return movement under the influence -of the Aspring substantially 55 at the 'initiation @of reverse movement of the handile. lBy thus providing yieldingly actuated mechanism for the feed bar, which is itself of light weight, all pulling or jerking of the hair which '.-might otherwise occur with resultant dis- 60 comfort tothe person whose hair is being cut is substantially avoided., `and effective feeding. even of very zsoft, fine and relatively long 'hairs to the cuting rteeth is assured.

My improved hair clipper thus embodies feed- 65 ing mechanism adapted to positively direct the hair 'to the cutting teeth and retain them in proper position with respect thereto while they are being cut in 'operative association and combination with means for progressively moving the blades 'away from the scalp so that a uniform and `satisfactorily tapered or graded hair cut may be .readily rand substantially automatically attained, :even by one not proficient in the use of hair clippers of ordinary character.

In this connection I desire to again direct attention to the fact that the extent to which the blades are retracted from the scalp is primarily determined by the distance the clipper is moved thereover with respect to the point at which the tab 35 is disposed, and not by the number of times the clipper handles are relatively reciprocated. This is a matter of distinct advantage for if an unskilled operator momentarily neglects to move the clipper forward but continues to reciprocate the handles, no harm is done for the relation of the blades to the scalp remains unchanged until the clipper is again advanced, whereas if this relation is varied in accordance with the reciprocation of the handles, as in certain clippers heretofore proposed, under like circumstances an abrupt step in or interruption to the desired smooth and gradual taper of the hair is brought about. Moreover, this taper is, of course, governed by the configuration of cam 25, so that if the purchaser of the clipper is supplied by the manufacturer with several different cams, he can by interchanging them readily adjust the clipper to cut a corresponding variety of tapers.

While I have herein shown and described with some particularity one embodiment of my invention as comprised in a manually operated clipper primarily designed for cutting human hair, it is to be understood that I do not desire or intend thereby to limit or confine myself thereto in any way, as changes and modifications in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts may be made if desired and/or the principles of the invention incorporated in other types of clippers intended for similar or for other uses Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

l. In a hair clipper comprising a pair of relatively reciprocable cutting blades and actuating means therefor, a gauge plate supported for movement toward and away from the blades, means including a flexible strand for moving the gauge plate away from the blades and yielding means for moving it in the opposite direction, a feed bar movable in an arcuate path toward and away from the blades, means operative to urge the bar toward the blades, and means interposed between the blade actuating means and the bar operative to move the bar away from the blades in periodic timed relation'with the reciprocation of the blades.

2. In a hair clipper comprising a pair of relatively reciprocable cutting blades and actuating means therefor, a feed bar having a transverse head adapted for arcuate movement toward and away from the blades, yielding means operative to urge the bar toward the blades, and means interposed between the blade actuating means and the bar operative to positively move the bar in the opposite direction in periodic timed relation with the reciprocation of the blades.

3. In a hair clipper comprising a housing, a relatively stationary blade, a movable blade and handles respectively associated with each blade, a substantially rectangular frame carried by the housing having diagonally disposed upstanding legs, a vertically oscillatory feed bar supported from one leg having a head movable into juxtaposition to the blades, yielding means operative to urge the bar toward the blades, means actuated from the handle associated with the movable blade for moving the bar away from the blades in timed relation with the movements of said handle, a gauge plate beneath and movable relatively to the blades in a right line, and actuating means for the gauge plate comprising an element adapted to be held at a xed point during movement of the blades, gauge plate and housing as a whole relatively thereto, means carried by the other leg of the frame interconnecting the element and the gauge plate operative to progressively move the gauge plate away from the blades when the blades, gauge plate and housing are moved away from said fixed point, and yielding means operative to progressively move the gauge plate toward the blades if they are subsequently moved toward said point.

4. In a hair clipper, a frame having a pair of upstanding legs, a shaft journaled in the upper end of each leg, a feed bar carried by one shaft, means for turning said shaft to thereby oscillate the feed bar, a cam and an actuating arm carried by the other shaft, a gauge plate having a reciprocable stem projecting into thel path of movement of the cam, yielding means operative to urge the stern in one direction into engagement with the cam, and a flexible strand secured to the arm for moving it in the opposite direction.

5. In a hair clipper comprising a housing and relatively reciprocable cutting blades associated therewith, a frame mounted on the housing, a shaft journaled therein, a generally T-shaped feed bar carried by the shaft having a transversely extending head movable in an Varcuate path into proximity with the blades, yielding means operative to urge the bar in one direction, and means operable to move the bar in the opposite direction in periodic timed relation with the reciprocation of the blades relatively to each other.

6. In a hair clipper comprising a housing and relatively reciprocable cutting blades associated therewith, a frame mounted on the housing, a shaft journaled therein, a cam and an actuating arm carried by the shaft, means for elevating the blades with respect to a supporting surface in correspondence with movement of the cam in one direction, a flexible element secured to the actuating arm, and means attached to the element adapted to be held at a fixed point while the clipper is moved relatively thereto to thereby move the actuating arm and cam in said direction.

'1. In a hair clipper comprising a housing and relatively reciprocable cutting blades associated therewith, means for elevating the blades with respect to a supporting surface in correspondence with progressive movement of the clipper thereover comprising a gauge plate beneath the blades having an upwardly directed stem, a movable cam cooperative therewith, an actuating arm for moving the cam, and a flexible element secured to said arm whereby when said element is held at a xed point and the clipper moved over said surface the cam is turned in correspondence with the progression of the clipper to depress the stem.

8. In a hair clipper comprising a housing, a fixed blade and fixed handle carried thereby, a movable handle pivoted to the housing and a reciprocable blade actuated thereby, said blades having cooperative cutting teeth, a tubular sleeve extending through the housing and the fixed blade forming the pivot for the movable handle and having a slot in its upper end, a frame superv posed on the housing, means carried by the sleeve above the frame and below the fixed blade operative to maintain the frame, housing and blades in assembled relation, .a .stem :extending through the sleeve, a :gauge plate fixed to the lower end of the stem, a collar disposed about the sleeve adjacent the vupper end of `the stem, a pin extending through the collar, stem'and sleeve slot, yielding means interposed between the collar and the housing to urge the stem upwardly, an upstanding leg integral with :the frame, a shaft journaled therein, a cam carr-ied by the shaft and movable in the slot to engage and fdepress the stem, an actuating arm operable to rotate the shaft, a ilexible strand secured to :the actuating arm, an element carried thereby yadapted to be held at a xed point while the clipper is in operation, means inhibiting rotation of the gauge plate relatively to the housing and strand guiding means loosely surrounding the exible strand.

9. In a hair clipper comprising a housing, a xed blade and xed handle carried thereby, a movable handle pivoted to the housing and a reciprocable -blade actuated thereby, said blades having `cooperative .cutting teeth, a frame superposed on the housing, a shaft journaled therein, a feed bar carried by the shaft having a transverse head movable in an yarcuate .path toward and away from lsaid teeth, yielding means operative to urge the head toward the teeth, diametrically disposed spaced projecting pins carried by the shaft, a rod extending transversely of the shaft between the pins having spaced projections respectively `adapted .to engage :the :latter when the rod is translated substantially axially to thereby effect limited movement of the shaft and feed bar in opposition to the force of the yielding means, and a connection between the rod and the movable handle whereby movement of the latter is effective to oscillate the feed bar in timed relation with the movements of the movable blade relatively to the xed blade.

10. In a hair clipper comprising a pair of relatively reciprocable cutting blades and actuating means therefor, means for progressively moving said blades away from a surface over which the clipper is travelling comprising a gauge plate disposed beneath and movable to and from the blades, a flexible element adapted to be positioned at a fixed point during movement of the clipper over said surface, and camming means actuated thereby to progressively move the gauge plate away from the blades as the clipper is vInoved 20 away from said point while said element vis -held thereat.

11. In a hair clipper comprising relatively reciprocable cutting blades and actuating means therefor, a feed bar pivotally mounted for oscillation in a vertical plane towards and. away from the blades, and means opera-tive to oscillate the bar in periodic timed relation with the relative reciprocation of the blades.

HENRY H. ROBERTS. 

